Malleable metal straw

ABSTRACT

A malleable metal straw. The malleable metal straw has an elongated member with a metal sidewall and a first open end and a second open end. An interior region has a liquid permissible cavity from the first open end to the second open end wherein at least a portion of the metal sidewall is sufficiently thin to allow the elongated member to bend under hand strength force. The malleable metal straw can further have a support structure within the interior region.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This nonprovisional patent application claims benefit to U.S.Provisional Patent Application 62/876,464 filed on Jul. 15, 2019.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates in general to apparatus for beverageconsumption. The disclosure relates in particular to a malleable metalstraw for beverage consumption.

BACKGROUND DISCUSSION

Single use plastic straws are becoming increasingly out of public favordue to their detrimental impact on the environment. Multiple use strawscan be made out of plastic, wood, or metal. These straws are typicallypreformed into a particular shape. This application relates to anotherapproach.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is directed to a malleable metal straw apparatusfor consuming a liquid. The malleable metal straw has an elongatedmember with a metal sidewall and a first open end and a second open end.An interior region has a liquid permissible cavity from the first openend to the second open end wherein at least a portion of the metalsidewall is sufficiently thin to allow the elongated member to bendunder hand strength force.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, schematically illustrate embodiments of thepresent disclosure, and together with the general description givenabove and the detailed description of preferred methods and embodimentgiven below, serve to explain principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is an embodiment of a malleable metal straw.

FIG. 2A is top view showing an end of that seen in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2B is top view showing an end of that seen in FIG. 1 further havinga 3-member support structure.

FIG. 2C is top view showing an end of that seen in FIG. 1 further havinga 4-member support structure.

FIG. 2D is top view showing an end of that seen in FIG. 1 further havinga 6-member support structure.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of another embodiment of a malleable metalstraw wherein a section is corrugated.

FIG. 3B is a side view of that shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of another embodiment of a malleable metalstraw similar to that seen in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, wherein thecorrugated section is spiraled.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the figures attached herein, methods and embodiments of thepresent invention are described further hereinbelow.

FIGS. 1 and 2A provide views of a malleable metal straw 10 for consuminga liquid. The malleable metal straw 10 has an elongated member having ametal wall 12 with an outer metal sidewall 14, an inner metal sidewall16. The metal wall is circular and has a first open end 20 and a secondopen end 22. An interior region 24 has a liquid permissible cavity withcontinuity from the first open end 20 to the second open end 22. Atleast a portion of the metal wall thickness is sufficiently thin toallow the elongated member to bend under hand strength force. Here, themalleable metal straw is shown unbent.

Herein, hand strength is based on a typical human user. In someembodiments, hand strength force refers to strength in an average singlehand and fingers. In other embodiments, two hands are required to bendthe malleable metal straw. In other embodiments, hand strength requiredis as defined by NASA-STD-3000 section 4.9 and associated Arm, andThumb/Finger Strength data.

The malleable metal straw can be made aluminum, copper, stainless steel,or combinations thereof. When using aluminum, two nonlimiting alloysinclude 3003-H18 or 1100-H18. The malleable metal straw can be finishedwith any food safe coatings. In aluminum embodiments, the malleablemetal straw can be anodized. Clear anodization per MIL-A-8625 Type IIcan be applied, or any colored anodization.

Regardless of material, an optional insulator member can be applied to aportion of the malleable metal straw along the metal sidewall at eitherof the openings, partially along the length of the malleable metalstraw, or in its entirety. Here, the insulator can be a removablesleeve, an insulator material applied to the metal, or integrated intothe straw. The insulator need not itself be made from an insulativematerial, rather the insulator member design must merely reduceconductive heat transfer to accommodate the malleable metal straw forits intended use, for instance consumption of hot beverages.

The size and shape of the malleable metal straw ranges depending onintended use and material. In general, the wall thickness can vary from0.001″ to 0.80″. A cross section opening of the malleable metal strawcan range from between 0.010″ to 1.0″. The length can vary from 2″ to36″.

The wall thickness can vary along the length of the malleable metalstraw. In some embodiments the wall thickness is thinner only in aportion in order to promote bending to a restricted area. In otherembodiments, wall thickness is asymmetric to promote bending in acertain direction.

FIG. 2A provides a cross section view of a circular embodiment. Otherprofiles can include oval, triangular, square, or any other closeprofile. For applications when an increased bend radius is desired themalleable metal straw can be reinforced to decrease buckling.

Referring to FIG. 2B, 2C, and 2D provide cross section views of amalleable metal straw with a support structure integrated within theinterior region. The embodiments share similar to that seen in FIG. 2A,further having a support structure. FIG. 2B has a support structure 28B.Support structure 28B has three legs dividing an interior region 24Binto three distinct channels. FIG. 2C has a support structure 28C.Support structure 28C has four legs dividing an interior region 24C intofour distinct channels. Similarly, FIG. 2D has a support structure 28D.Support structure 28D has six legs dividing an interior region 24B intosix distinct channels. The support structure prevents collapse of themetal wall when bent.

Here the support structures are symmetrical, but in other embodimentsthe support structure is asymmetric. Similar to wall thickness, thesupport structure can have varying thickness and be either thicker orthinner than the wall thickness. In some embodiments the supportstructure in linear through the length of the malleable metal straw. Inother embodiments the support structure profile rotates or spirals.

Referring to FIG. 3A, 3B, and 3C, a malleable metal straw has corrugatedin linear and spiral patterns. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B both show linearcorrugated patters. A malleable metal straw 60 has a corrugated section62 with an exemplary rim 64 and exemplary valley 66. Each rim is linearand wraps around the straw. The space inside each rim is hollow. Thespacing between the rim and valley, along with the hollow interiorallows easier bending and focuses the bending to the region of thecorrugated pattern. FIG. 3C provides a malleable metal straw 70. Here, acorrugated section 72 is spiraled in a continuous rim 74. Theembodiments shown allow a typical straw to reversibly bend up to 90degrees.

The aforementioned malleable metal straws can be made by a variety ofmanufacturing techniques including CNC machining, additivemanufacturing, metal extrusion of combinations thereof. Metal extrusionis one preferred manufacturing technique when the malleable metal strawis monolithic and made from a single material. In a typicalmanufacturing process, a combination of extrusion and drawing is neededto achieve a functional and cost effective profile.

One preferred method of manufacture is hydroforming. In hydroforming, ahigh pressure hydraulic fluid is pressed working material, here metal,into a die and press the working material into the same shape as thenegative mold. In some embodiments, sheet metal is used to create thestraws in a sheet, then they are rolled and seem welded to create thestraw shape or profile. While in this embodiment a round or circularshape is formed, any number of polygon shapes can be formed. Generally,and sheet metal forming technique can be applied to create the desiredprofile. The ends are deburred and finished as before.

From the description of the present invention provided herein oneskilled in the art can implement the method of manufacture in accordancewith the present invention. While the present invention has beendescribed in terms of particular examples, others can be implementedwithout departing from the invention. In some embodiments componentswere illustrated as separate pieces, other as monolithic bodies. It isto be understood that any particular component can be made from anassembly of parts. Further the features of certain parts can be combinedwith other parts to form monolithic bodes incorporating the features orfunctional aspects of the separate parts. In summary, the presentinvention is described above in terms of particular embodiments. Theinvention, however, is not limited to the embodiments described anddepicted herein. Rather, the invention is limited only by the claimsappended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A malleable metal straw apparatus for consuming aliquid, comprising: an elongated member having an outer metal sidewall,a inner metal sidewall and a first open end and a second open end; aninterior region having a liquid permissible cavity from the first openend to the second open end; and wherein at least a portion of the metalsidewall is sufficiently thin to allow the elongated member to bendunder hand strength force.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a support structure within the interior region.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the support structure has a least threelegs.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the support structure issymmetrical.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the material metalstraw is made from aluminum, copper, stainless steel or combinationsthereof.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a corrugatedregion.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the corrugated region has alinear pattern.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the corrugatedregion has a spiral pattern.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, furthercomprising a support structure.